Rain, rain, go away....

No slab yet... It rained all last week turning our land into a swamp. Fingers crossed they can get it in before the next lot of rain sets in - three more days of it forecast for later this week!

Trenches and tubes

I was expecting the site to be unchanged on my routine drive-by today, it rained all day yesterday and then on and off today. However upon arrival I discovered a maze of trenches ad been dug and the very first physical element of the house was in. 

 

 

As I drove round the street I noticed another new addition, the beginning of what looks to be a park or recreation area going in just a few houses up from us!

Building commences

This week, Ben and I met with our site manager - the builder in charge. He gave us a general run down of the process and answered a couple of questions we had;

• Can we keep the leftover bricks? - Yes.
• When will the build be complete, approximately? - Late August, all things going smoothly.
• Can we come on site to look at the progress/take photos? - Yes (hooray), but limited and better to organise a time with him first.
• Can we switch out the fixed bathroom windows for ones that open? - Yes, however that will drop the energy rating again and require a re-evaluation of the EER and probably more double glazing = more money.
  

After the site cut (completed this week - seen in the picture below, the builder expects the slab to be in by the end of next week and the frames and windows the following week - exciting times ahead!

Site fences are up

Construction phase has commenced

As of yesterday, we are officially in the 'Construction Phase'. The proverbial reins have been handed over to the site manager and we are waiting with bated breath for the first ground to be broken!

Our soon-to-be-neighbour's residences however, are well and truly in the construction phase. Houses are popping up all around our block and progressing in leaps and bounds. Looks like we may be one of the last. At least we won't be living in a construction site once we're in.

Here's our empty block, surrounded by houses mid-construction:

And from the other side:

One of the great things about our location is the nature reserve across the road (this is where I take the distant pics of the block from). Thanks to that glorious endangered moth living there it will never be built upon.

In this pic, our house is off to the right - over the fence: --->

Another highlight for me, is the little knoll of gum trees at the top of our road. I hate the new suburbs where everything is razed to the ground and anything planted will take years to become even remotely established. I'm so glad they left this little bit of bushland in.